[Closed] Whats that Avon stuff that scares off midges?

skin so soft dry oil spray

make sure its the greeny blue bottle as they do make in in a couple of different perfumes.

I reckon it's a faith based repellent, you have to believe in it for it to work (it doesn't for me and anyone I know personally)

Skin so soft.

It's rubbish. Use Jungle Formula or something similar with about 50% DEET in it.

I have used pretty much everything on the market so I might as well waste some money on this one.

I am a mossie magnet. If you want to walk naked through a mosquito swarm without being bitten, walk next to me and they won't touch you.

Actually if you want to walk naked through a mosquito swarm see a doctor

This stuff: http://avonshop.co.uk/shop/product.asp?src_page=topten.asp&level1_id=&level2_id=&pdept_id=&dept_id=&pf_id=4982

Note: it's NOT a repellent. You have to use enough to drown the buggers when they land on you.

I did a before and after with it on Tuesday night. Worked for me 🙂

Just read your last post. It DOES NOT work against mosquitos.

I have to disagree i live in scotland and spend a good deal of time outside in some midge infested areas and i reckon it works pretty well. Maybe not as good as autan or jungle formula, or any other deet based product but at least it dosent melt everything you own that is made from man made fibres. I've seen deet melt the lenses and frames on sunglasses (which was expensive).

Its each to their own i reckon but don't write skin so soft off.

I will try it and report on its effectiveness against Lordswood midges and what ever tried to eat me in the New Forest

try baby oil + splash of dettol. apparently.

jimmy - that sounds like a fun evening

i'm with WorldClassAccident, where do you live I'll bring some skin so soft around to add to the fun 😯

It works, it doesn't stop them landing on you but it does stop them nipping you

Yeah, you still feel crawly since they'll happily land on you still, so it's still not pleasant to be in a swarm, but it does massively reduce the bites. We were lucky enough to camp at Beinglas on the west highland way bang in midgie season, just after heavy rain, on a still day- midgeocalyptic, basically, it was horrendous. So we all had our own cures, some evil imported DEET stuff, various off-the-shelf midge repellants, etc, and while some of the "proper" midge sprays totally failed, and the not-for-sale-in-UK stuff was the best, the skin so soft was the most consistent performer.

It supposedly works on midges but not mosquitos. Deet might work on midges as it works on mosquitos. The mosquito clothes spray was very effective on mosquitos so maybe worth a try if you can find it.

The "active" ingredient in skin so soft is citronella. Google it, you can find alternatives. THe advantage of skin so soft is that it's easy to apply. But if it's not working something more concentrated may be of use.

they are too busy doing their facial routine to bite you, it works for me, i once did one leg and forgot the other in the rush to ride, guess which leg got bitten?

£1.75 at the moment - Avon has it on offer.

works fine for me,use it all over after you shower and should last 24 hrs,british army (including sas) have used it for years,anything with deet i would avoid,burns like hell if you have sunburn and proved to be linked to skin cancer,

coastkid - Member

works fine for me,use it all over after you shower and should last 24 hrs,british army (including sas) have used it for years,anything with deet i would avoid,burns like hell if you have sunburn [b]and proved to be linked to skin cancer,[/b]

No - it hasn't.

That's right, it hasn't, though it's been strongly linked to some nasty stuff... The EPA reported a strong connection to seizures including a small number of fatalities in the states, and study in the everglades linked it to insomnia, mood disturbances and impaired brain function among long-term users.

It's nasty stuff, the main reason it was accepted in the states wasn't that it's considered safe, but that it's safer than some of the risks of US biting insects. I'm not sure that really applies with UK biters, they're just bas****s.

A friend swears by it. I used it for the first time a few weeks ago in the Yorkshire Dales, on a campsite, on a sunny calm evening. The buggers were out in force and I didn't get bitten (I'm normally a main course for midges). As said above, they still land on you, so it would be unpleasant in swarms. But it worked for me.

The trick with skin so soft is not to imagine its a repellant. It won't ward them off, it simply bungs up their little beaks when they try to bite you, so you want to be slippery with the stuff. But because it doesn't repel them you want to get a really good coverage. Luckily because its not nasty in the insecticide sense, and because you can pick it up very cheaply, you can splash it on with gay abandon

I've been told marmite it supposed to be be a good repellant, but I'm not sure if I want to go out looking like Al Jolson.

Lifesystems do a natural repellent, it works very well, its a little oily so it works all day, it just smells of Eucalyptus and best of all wont melt a hole through the bottom of your Camel Pak if it leaks. 😕

I've been told taking odourless garlic can help in deter midges, ticks and the like...

Has anyone tried it and found it effective?

IME, Skin So Soft doesn't repel midges, it kills them. In particularly midge-heavy conditions your body can end up like a greasy midge graveyard...

Works for me on New Forest midges, who otherwise ave a feast on me. Also, because its slippy, it makes washing/wiping mud off much easier. It does mean the dust sticks to you at the moment though, but from the distance looks like a pro riders tan!

I find the deet stuff gets sweated off in no time when its hot, but skin so soft lasts all ride.

but from the distance looks like a pro riders tan!

so does marmite

I've just looked up that new Autan product cos we're off to France in a couple of weeks.
I have never tried it, but it 'reads' well!!!! it contains icaridin which is not absorbed into the skin and sounds a lot less harmful to you than DEET.
try here....
http://www.autan.co.uk/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=272

It came up on this forum a little while back on a Lyme/Tick thread, as it seems to be the first product to give ~ 4 hrs protection against ticks.
Just put it on the list of things to get for hols!
Anyone tried it?
Q

Ding dong, Avon calling. 😀

I am becoming an Avon lady, so if you want to buy some Skin-so-soft, email in profile. My next delivery will be 23/07.